German MP appeals to be put out of Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry blacklist

A German MP has appealed to Azerbaijan with a request for his name to be withdrawn from the blacklist of persons who illegally visited Azerbaijan's occupied territories.

In his appeal, German Bundestag member Jurgen Klimke said his visit to the occupied territories in September 2013 was not planned and he was not aware of the illegality of such a visit and its possible consequences, according to a statement from the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Elman Abdullayev.

The German MP also stressed in his appeal that he recognises Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and regrets his visit to the occupied territories.

Jurgen Klimke's appeal will be reviewed in a corresponding order, the ministry's spokesman said.

Among those who addressed the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry for being withdrawn from the blacklist there are also member of the Russian State Duma Alexey Mitrofanov, chief of the Moscow bureau of the Voice of America James Brooke, as well as students from the Johns Hopkins University and other persons.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.